The Rest of VIA

Holy Hell, we’ve dedicated the past four days on the blog to VIA and we still aren’t done covering it all! JEEZ LOUISE! This is a lot of shiyat. But hey, that’s okay, because I’m not complaining. In a few short hours, quite possibly the coolest workshop of VIA 2011 will go down at CMU. We’re here to tell you a little more about it and all of the other attractions of the festival aside from the music/video aspect.

October 6 | Kresge Theater – CMU
This event is free for CMU students and staff, as well as All Access pass holders. As for you other slackers, a small donation will do. Show up early, this will probably fill up quickly.

LECTURE | DAVID BORDEN
“The Moog Synthesizer: The Man I Knew and the Machine I Learned” | Founder of Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Company and the Cornell Electroacoustic Music Center at Cornell University.

CONCERT | FRKWYS 7 ENSEMBLE
International live premiere of the synth ensemble of David Borden, Dan Lopatin, Laurel Halo, James Ferraro and Samuel Godin.

What’s Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Company, you ask? Pretty damn cool. David Borden co-founded the world’s first synth ensemble in 1969. Extremely pivotal man in the birth of this counterculture!

Saturday’s a big day in terms of activities and workshops. Be sure to check out the following:

Pgh Vinyl Convention | 162 Sheridan Ave. | 9-5 | $3-$5
Love playing or collecting records? PVC is for you! We’re lucky to have a healthy record culture in Pgh, so get out and support your fellow vinyl lovers!

Bass Rally II
“Look/listen for Bass Rally at multiple locations around East Liberty on October 7th & 8th. You never know, your car may just become a thumping, wobbling bass-machine. Bass Rally II is the second installment of a performance installation to “celebrate bass” through the practice of “social audio unity”.

The concept is simple: cars in a parking lot can use their radio receivers to pick up a transmission of bass tones sent through a signal generated nearby. The audio is then shaped according to where the separate participants park their cars and how they adjust the tonal preferences of their stereo systems.

This is in contrast to the typical use of low-frequency bass tones to competitively distinguish the audio produced from individual cars and their drivers. This project harnesses and emphasizes the social interaction that is inherent within the function of parking lots as a gathering space. Communal effort creates an improvised audio installation in a public space.” – VIA